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Interesting topic, and I?m sure something that we?ve all thought about a few times.Obviously a lot of this comes down to personal opinion and personal playing style, so a lot of the following depends on what I tend to use in my own builds. [BTW, I?m not really putting any of these in any sort of order.]

?Yes, But...?:Death Star Exhaust PortDefinitely the best defensive objective out there, but I wonder how many actually use it regularly. I generally don?t, because it?s just defensive: I?d usually leave it out in preference for another objective that has an additional effect that aids my strategy.

Combat DropI agree this is a great card, but anyone familiar with my fleets will understand why I would pair this up with Reinforcements, rather than consider it purely on its own. There?s a lot of synergy between these cards, and the effect is just awesome when you can get them to work together.

YodaI originally put this in the ?Overrated? category, but have had a late change of heart. As with DSEP, it?s just one of those cards I hardly ever use. I really do understand why so many rate this, and the ?Errant Venture? combo is a great trick if you can get it to work, but that ?if? is my problem here. I?ve always had difficulty with purely Combat card-based combos, as they can be difficult to implement and easy to disrupt. Also, I tend to feel that much of the time Yoda is just used as a sticking plaster for an inherent lack of icon synergy in a build. Still incredibly useful for those starting out, though (assuming you can get your hands on a copy in the first place, of course...)

The Overrated:Plo KoonAs a straight objective, this is actually an inferior card to Death Star Hangar, which is much more likely to make the cut for me.DSH has higher defense and more Build Stars, and can bring in Ground units as well as Space. Plo Koon only really comes into its own if you?re actually using Plo Koon units; and if we?re going to get that specialized, shouldn?t we be considering Stass Allie? (Actually, I?m mildly surprised you didn?t include Stass in the first place...)

The Underrated:Endor Command Post / Theed Royal PalaceI?m staggered these didn?t make the original list. They totally change the way that virtually any deck plays. Incredibly useful for anyone starting out and experimenting and/or unable to play 3 copies of every card, as they help compensate for a multitude of synergy and card-utilization problems, but just awesome in refined builds.I?ve put them together as which one I favour depends on the strategy behind the build.Watto?s Junk Shop is similar on the surface, but nothing like as good in practise.

Altering the DealI amazed myself when I discovered this was the most commonly-used card in my builds. Yes: even above Dagobah! TBH, I doubt it deserves that exalted position, but it would take a lot to make me play a deck that doesn?t have some sort of ?Objective disruption? ability. The other card worth considering here is Kashyyyk Beachhead, although I prefer the better flexibility of the Combat card.

Cloud CityI?ve a real soft spot for this card, as ? combined with Theed Royal Palace ? it had an important role in making my early build attempts playable. A bit of a ?Jack of all trades?; that ?12? defense isn?t the strongest but it?s better than many more frequently-used objectives; not as good as Theed or ECP on its own, but still provides some protection against ?Objective Lock?.Also a strong card for combos: I?ve recently started using it a lot again because it?s great combined with the ?Leia Organa? cards, especially Leia Organa for builds. I?ve personally never managed the ultimate ?+6 Attack/+5 Damage?, but I have managed +5/+4...

Imperial BlockadeI always include at least one Forward Objective in all my builds now, as the benefit of that extra Objective slot cannot be understated. Barring any other strategic requirements, this is my ?default? FO. Stops swarms dead in their tracks, and helps you (re)gain tempo...

Han Solo / Asajj VentressI agree that Han seems a little out of place in the ?top rank? of cards, but I just love disruption cards. Terrific for attacking builds, and don?t underestimate that +1 Damage either.In some circumstances, Asajj is better as it works even when played second.

DengarPretty-much auto-include for swarms, and another of those cards that combines wonderfully with Mustafar.

Honourable Mentions:Master?s TouchLet down by that annoying misprint, but still one of those cards that?s worth considering when you?re stuck.

Boss NassNot a card I use as much as I probably should, but another of those cards that totally changes how you play.

I agree with some of your thoughts too. So it looks like we've got consensus on at least 6 of them! Great start.

We'll have to fisticuffs over the rest :fight:

Now then, you're right about play style and other such choices making some selections have merit over others.

Take Plo Koon for example. I LOVE Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter, and it's an automatic 3x inclusion in almost every build that uses fighters. He's just a beast, and his objective makes him a true threat. I would opt for DSH for reinforcements if I'm playing a hybrid or ground or a build without his units of course. But how DARE you call him overrated !!

On a final note, you use a lot of terms common in Magic, do you play MTG E_Lair?

Logged

"There's plenty of youth in the world. What we need is a fountain of Smart".

Take Plo Koon for example. I LOVE Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter, and it's an automatic 3x inclusion in almost every build that uses fighters. He's just a beast, and his objective makes him a true threat. I would opt for DSH for reinforcements if I'm playing a hybrid or ground or a build without his units of course. But how DARE you call him overrated !!

First up: my earlier comments were only with regards to the Plo Koon Discard Objective (not Plo Koon units), and only in the context of this thread: i.e. whether or not it qualifies as one of the most powerful cards in SWPM.

Now as I said earlier, the card?s main objective ability and stats are inferior on all counts to Death Star Hangar, and that ?9? Defense means you probably won?t want it hanging around in your objective slots too long. Its reputation therefore depends entirely on its special discard ability.

The problem is that although the Plo Koon units are good, there are only 2 of them. They don?t have any matching icons either, making it difficult to get them to work in the same build. Even allowing for that, you can have 6 Plo Koon units at most in your fleet. Let?s be generous and say you have 15 units in total, meaning that he represents at best 40% of your fleet. Now, that DO ability is powerful, but it can only be used in combat, and only against Space units: it?s useless against Ground units. In a Jedi build, Plo Koon is a great card (heck, I use it myself), but in general terms it has a fairly low utility (apart from ?Combat Drop?, pretty much all of the Combat cards you referred-to in your OP would score much better in a well-designed build) and is unlikely to be a match-winner on its own. I therefore can?t really see this card as one of the game?s most powerful.

For comparison, consider Stass Allie. There are 3 different Stass units, meaning that she can represent up to 60% of your fleet in my example above. On top of that, both her general and DO abilities improve your strike chances (when stacked, she pretty-much guarantees a successful strike). This means she?s genuinely a potential match-winner.

On a final note, you use a lot of terms common in Magic, do you play MTG E_Lair?

No. My background coming into SWPM was broadly a wargaming one. I also have some general interest in game theory and game design. IIRC, you correctly picked me up on some RPG terminology a while back, but that was a long time ago...

SWPM is the only CCG I've ever really become interested in (and of course it's not a true CCG, but a hybrid). When I started playing SWPM, I could grasp the combat aspect easily enough, but the card usage and deck management were new (although I have some basic understanding of statistics, which helped). I therefore did some basic research into CCG strategy and techniques. Obviously MTG crops up a lot, but many of the terms and techniques are interchangeable among other CCGs. There was also some discussion of CCG strategy on this forum, but nothing like as much as I'd expected. A bit of a shame, IMO...